The Music of the Stars
by Petraverd
Summary: Prince Caspian and Doctor Cornelius have another Astronomy lesson on the Great Tower, of a slightly different sort.


"_The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  
__Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.__  
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  
__Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."  
Psalm 19:1-4_

* * *

Caspian yawned as he sat up in his bed. His mind, and more importantly his heart, were very excited, but his body was still protesting. Rubbing the last remnants of sleep from his eyes, he slipped on a dark robe and joined his tutor. As was now becoming usual, they silently made their way to the Great Tower where they had their secret discussions of the Old Narnia. As they made their climb, Caspian could not help but wonder what the Doctor would tell him tonight. He had told Caspian earlier that this was to be an astronomy lesson of a different sort. It was an usually clear night, so he did not find that too entirely surprising, but he could not imagine what the lesson would be.

The soon arrived at their destination. Doctor Cornelius set his lantern aside as Caspian took in the countless points of light above them. His time in doing so was cut agonizingly short, however, as his tutor lost no time in beginning his lesson.

"Now, dear Prince, it is time to discuss Astronomy in a somewhat different light. Please close your eyes for a moment."

Caspian was slightly surprised at the request. "But how am I to see anything?"

Doctor Cornelius only smiled mysteriously. "Precisely. I want you to listen, not look."

The prince was still bewildered, but did as he was told. And as he expected, he heard... nothing. Complete stillness. Try as he might, there was nothing of note to listen to. Except the question that came from the Doctor:

"What do you hear, dear Prince?"

Shaking his head slightly, Caspian could only reply, "I hear nothing, no matter how hard I try."

The Doctor's voice was patient. "Then stop trying. Stop trying to hear a sound, and listen instead to the sound of the silence."

His words only made Caspian more perplexed, but he did his best to do what his tutor told him to. The silence didn't change, but as Caspian focused on the silence itself, he discovered... well, _some_thing.

The discovery must have made itself manifest on his face, as Cornelius asked, "What is it, dear Prince?"

Caspian struggled to put it into words. "Silence, but... it is different, somehow. Meaningful? It is as if there is something there that cannot be heard."

"Ah, there it is, Your Highness. Come, open your eyes and I will give you your lesson."

The young prince did so, and listened to his tutor's words with great curiosity.

There was a long pause before the Doctor spoke. "My dear Prince, what happens to a noise you hear constantly, over and over, never ceasing? Does it not simply fade into the background until you no longer notice it?"

Caspian only nodded after pondering this for a bit.

"So too is this silence you have just heard. It is the music of the stars, the music they have never ceased to make since the dawn of Narnia. It is always there, surrounding us. It is the music that is too familiar to be heard, that enfolds us day and night, in all ages."

The expression on Caspian's face belied his confusion, which compelled the Doctor to continue. "They have never stopped singing Aslan's praises. Each star has its own song to sing for him, has its own part to play in the grand melody of the heavens."

Doctor Cornelius raised his head to the skies and gestured. "The Spear-Head, the guiding star, sings of the great and good guidance always offered by the Lion. Tarva, the Lord of Victory, calls out his praise of the victories the Lion brings to his faithful. Alambil's voice adds her joy in the blissful peace found in the Lion's Mane."

Comprehension began to set in on the boy's face as he looked up into the heavens himself, seeing old and familiar stars in a slightly new way now. Cornelius only smiled as he watched his prince. "And even the Sun joins in the song, his dance across the skies full of the warmth and light we find in Aslan, and the Moon reflecting the Lion's love and gentleness as much as she reflects the light of the Sun."

Caspian could only stare, almost straining to listen to the music he knew was too constant for him to really hear, longing to be a part of the joyous song they sang, to understand the intricate dance of praise they took part in. His mind raced, and his tutor's words came through the background:

"This is why no matter how hard your uncle tries, he can never truly squelch the stories of Old Narnia, of Aslan Himself. The very heavens declare His majesty. Never forget that, my dear Prince. Never forget the song of the stars that none of us can hear, and never take their joyous dance for granted. They will always praise the Lion. Let the night sky remind you to follow in the Lion's paws always."

There was no response to this but a slow nod as Caspian stared in wonder. He still did not fully understand, but he did know one thing for certain.

He would never look at the night sky in the same way again.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there's a lot that went into this one, much more than should probably be said in an author's note. Suffice it to say inspiration throttled me and wouldn't let go until I got this out of my system. I also feel the need to say that I borrowed the line that Cornelius uses, "It is the music that is too familiar to be heard, that enfolds us day and night, in all ages," from Lewis's other writings... his _Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature, _I think it was.It, along with Caspian, Cornelius, Narnia, Aslan, and anything else you recognize belong to Lewis, not me.

Also, I highly recommend listening to 'God of Wonders' while reading this, as it was the semi-inspiration. Preferably an instrumental version.


End file.
